The sea was wide enough for fish to leap, the sky high enough for birds to soar.
Storm sat cross-legged atop the head of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, the fierce wind at high altitude whipping his robes loudly.
He turned his head and looked back.
Below him, on the boundless azure sea, the sinister outline of Impel Down was rapidly shrinking—until it became nothing more than a tiny black dot.
Only after Impel Down vanished completely from sight did Storm finally look away.
He had worked diligently in that prison for a long time.
His performance indicators had far surpassed those of Deputy Warden Shiryu.
At the moment of departure, Storm couldn't help but feel a trace of regret.
There would never be another place on the high seas quite like that—
A perfect monster-farming ground.
Cough.
Storm quickly cleared that thought from his mind.
He began reviewing the gains from his Infinite Hell Hunting Plan.
One after another, Grand Trophies emerged from the void, neatly arranged in midair—radiant and dazzling.
The first to draw his attention was naturally the six-star Death Trophy—
[Diamond Trophy: Catarina Devon].
Next came another Death Trophy of slightly lower rank—
[Platinum Trophy: Bondi Waldo].
These two were prisoners Storm had personally eliminated.
Not only had they contributed their trophies, they had also yielded Devil Fruits.
Storm's thoughts shifted.
The porcelain-white scales of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon parted like flowing water.
Three Devil Fruits appeared before him:
Zoan-type: Chameleon Fruit
Mythical Zoan-type: Nine-Tailed Fox Fruit
Paramecia-type: Momo-Momo Fruit
Leaving the Chameleon Fruit aside—
An ordinary Zoan was effectively worthless at this stage.
Storm didn't even bother deciding what to do with it.
His attention lingered on the other two.
"One is a Mythical Zoan—the near-perfect answer,"
"The other is a Paramecia with a brutally simple effect…"
Storm subconsciously brushed the Devil Ring on his finger.
If Aokiji had handed him either of these two fruits back then, the Clay-Clay Fruit might never have been necessary.
He pushed the thought aside and continued his review.
Aside from Catarina Devon and Bondi Waldo, many prisoners in Infinite Hell had been killed outright by the Clay Dragon Bullets.
They too produced Death Trophies.
Unfortunately, none of them were six-star Diamond Trophies.
The Clay Dragon Bullet's destructive power was still insufficient against truly top-tier monsters.
That said, there were two additional five-star Death Trophies:
[Platinum Trophy: Plessy]
[Platinum Trophy: Bard Won Grace]
Storm recognized both names.
Before infiltrating Infinite Hell, he had thoroughly studied the prisoner list.
Both were pirates with bounties exceeding 500 million Berries.
Plessy—"Cunning" Plessy—possessed a Teleport Fruit, with a bounty over 800 million.
Bard Won Grace—"Grey Cat"—wielded the Projection-Projection Fruit, bounty 600 million.
To be fair, pirates at this level were no weaklings.
Their Devil Fruits were useful—
Teleportation, infinite firearms—
But compared to the Nine-Tailed Fox Fruit or the Momo-Momo Fruit, they were merely "good," not "essential."
Storm had considered hunting them earlier, but time had not allowed it.
Unexpectedly, they had still fallen.
Storm tallied the numbers carefully.
There were three five-star Death Trophies:
Bondi Waldo
Plessy
Bard Won Grace
In addition, there were twenty-three ordinary Platinum Trophies.
Twenty-six Platinum Trophies total.
A staggering harvest.
As for the four-star Gold Trophies—
Infinite Hell had held countless prisoners with bounties over 100 million.
Almost none had survived the saturation bombardment.
The Golden Trophies were too numerous to count.
And nearly all of them were Death Trophies.
Storm had, in effect, wiped out the entire upper tier of Infinite Hell.
"Cleaning up trash," he muttered,
"is everyone's responsibility."
Gold Trophies were no longer meaningful to him.
Platinum Trophies strengthened his foundation.
Diamond Trophies raised his ceiling.
His gaze returned to the Diamond Trophies.
Besides Catarina Devon's Blood Diamond, there were two others:
[Diamond Trophy: Basque Shot]
[Diamond Trophy: San Juan Wolf]
These were ordinary Diamond Trophies.
Meaning their owners were unconscious, not dead.
"Three Diamond Trophies…
Twenty-six Platinum…
Countless Gold…"
Storm waved his hand.
All Grand Trophies vanished back into the void—
Except one.
Catarina Devon's Blood Diamond Trophy.
Storm exhaled slowly.
First, he used the Blood Diamond's upgrade effect.
[Clay-Clay Fruit: ★★★★★★★] — Seven Stars
At last, his Clay Fruit reached seven stars.
It was the only ability he possessed at that level.
The Blue-Eyes White Dragon sensed the change and let out a joyous roar.
Storm then turned his gaze back to the now-ordinary Diamond Trophy.
"One wish left."
He didn't hesitate.
The Diamond Trophy shattered into radiant light, then condensed into a dull silver-gray ring.
[Devil Ring – Imitation]
Star Rating: ★★★★★★
Description:
An ancient technological artifact, an imitation of the true Devil Ring.
Effects:
Devil Power — Absorbs and seals Devil Fruit factors, releasing their abilities through its own energy.
Natural Energy — Draws energy from the invisible world, sustaining usage up to Awakening level.
Comment: Our time is engraved upon the ring.
Storm closed his hand around the ring.
The wind howled.
The dragon roared.
And ahead—
The vast sea awaited.
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